Environment

Materials Recovery Facility (MRF)

The Fraser Coast MRF is located at Dundowran in Hervey Bay. Recycling, from all across the Fraser Coast is delivered to the MRF for sorting and separating into the five (5) recyclable materials – Paper and Cardboard, Plastic, Glass, Steel and Aluminium. These materials are then baled ready to transport to recycling factories.

Each collection truck has the capacity to hold recycling from up to 500 domestic recycle bins. This means approximately 4400 Fraser Coast household recycling bins are being emptied and sorted at the MRF on any given day. There are also commercial and industrial services in addition to this.

What is accepted at the MRF?

There are five (5) main material categories that can be sorted for recycling at the MRF:

The sorting process

Transport to MRF - contents collected from recycling bins are transported to the MRF for processing. The truck empties the recyclables into a pit area.

First Sorting Station - a front end loader transfers the recyclables onto a conveyer belt that moves the product to the first sorting station. Cleanaway staff remove large cardboard and waste from the belt. The cardboard is sent via a chute to a baler. Waste is sent via a chute to a waste bin which is transported to the landfill site in Maryborough.

Paper separation - paper and light cardboard are separated from the glass, steel, plastic and aluminium by a disc screen. The disc screen bounces the paper up to the top of the screen where it is transferred along a conveyor to the paper baler.

Glass separation - lighter items plastic, steel and aluminium are blown onto another conveyor belt by the air classifier, leaving the glass behind. The glass then travels by conveyor to the back of the MRF where it is put into glass holding pits.

Steel separation - the conveyor with the steel, plastic and aluminium passes under a giant magnet which attracts the steel cans off the belt and directs them into the steel holding cage.

Plastic and aluminium separation - plastic and Aluminium then pass through the densifier which pierces the plastic bottles and containers with holes so they don’t pop when they are baled. The products then pass under a magnetic field called an Eddy Current which repels the aluminium cans into a product storage cage for baling while the plastic products fall down into the plastic storage cage.

Baled materials - paper, cardboard, plastics, steel and aluminium are all baled and prepared for transport. Glass collection bins are placed on a trailer ready for transport.

New products - each of the five commodities (paper and cardboard, plastic, steel, aluminium and glass) are sent to manufacturers to be made into new products which we can purchase and use.

Contamination

To assist with the recycle sorting process we encourage residents to place only acceptable recyclable items into their recycle bin. Find out what can go into your recycle bin here.

The wrong items in your recycle bin are called 'contamination'. Some contaminates are frequently placed in the recycling bin and make their way to the MRF. These contaminates reduce the effectiveness of the MRF process, mix with recyclables (compromising their value) and end up being sent to landfill anyway.

Some common contaminates include:

It is essential that recyclable materials are placed loose in the yellow lidded recycling bins. Please do not bag your recyclables and do not line your recycling bin with a plastic liner. The MRF cannot process bagged recycling and therefore this material will be classed as contamination and disposed at landfill.